Countdown
by Seito
Summary: From 10 to 0, a series of drabbles and tidbits that examine the world of TWEWY. Of all the souls he had met, Joshua had never seen a soul so bright and so dark at the same time. It was a soul that screamed of pain, sadness, and anger, and glowed with love, kindness, and unwavering faith. Never had he witnessed a soul more blood soaked then his own. Joshua met a murderer that day
1. Chapter 1

Countdown

This has been sitting on my computer for… forever really. I decided to just post it and see where it goes. From 10 to 0, a series of drabbles and tidbits that examine the world of TWEWY. Some are canon with the game; others are mini crossovers or half baked theories that I had come up with. A few are directly inspired by some twewy fanfics that I read long ago and the remaining are part of a large Kingdom Hearts/TWEWY story that I hope to write one day. Have fun piecing them together.

Inspired by **The Sh33p** and his Catch 22 (Naruto) story. Written in a similar format.

* * *

10…

It occurred to Eri one day; that something was different.

Eri wasn't sure what changed. But she knew something had. Shiki had changed. It was almost as if Eri didn't recognize her friend anymore. One day they were fighting, the next Shiki came back, happier then Eri could remember with friends she never knew existed. Back then Eri was too relived to care or to notice. All it had matter then was her friend was alive.

But once the shock wore away, and everything fell back into a lull of normalcy, she could see the changes. It was like a secret that Shiki was keeping from her and it drove her insane.

The scary part was that she wasn't sure she wanted to know…

9…

It was a test.

A simple exam, write a short essay on the topic sentence. While grammar, sentence structure, and other literary techniques were looked upon, it should have been a relatively easy exam. The topic sentence: "Write an essay on your hopes and dreams."

Rhyme turned in her paper blank.

8…

Of all the souls he had met, Joshua had never seen a soul so bright and so dark at the same time. It was a soul that screamed of pain, sadness, and anger, and glowed with love, kindness, and unwavering faith. Never had he witnessed a soul more blood soaked then his own.

Joshua met a murderer that day on the street.

He raised his hand up, with every intention of erasing the soul, because Shibuya, his beautiful Shibuya, did not need another murderer to add to the growing numbers of souls entering the Reapers' Game. Just as he was about to bring his hand down, the murderer, no, the girl, a girl no more than a few years older than Neku, turned and looked directly at him. Her ice blue eyes stared straight at him, showing nothing but a quiet understanding.

He hesitated, even though he knew the girl shouldn't— couldn't see him. Suddenly she joined by a boy with wild chocolate brown hair and far too bright hazel eyes. He watched as the boy grabbed the girl's hand, his soul just as bright, chasing away all the darkness her soul had. Joshua simply let them go.

As they disappeared into the crowds, Joshua frowned slightly. Apparently his time with Neku had made him softer then he realized. To his surprise, the girl turned back and stared back at him. She offered him a small smile, mouthed a silent 'thank you' and disappeared with the boy. Joshua realized it was okay that he had gotten a little soft.

7…

On the other side, Joshua couldn't help but stare at his sons as they slumber quietly in front of the TV. His entire family had fallen asleep while watching the movie. He smiled as he watched them snuggle closer to each other before he felt someone snuggling up to _him_. Joshua looked down, and his smile only grew as he stroked the orange locks of hair.

He realized then, that everything was just right.

6...

One day, Beat was arrested for a robbery he didn't commit. He had countless support from his friends and parents, even if he had to spend the night in the slammer. Eventually he was released after they found the REAL culprit.

But what made Beat happy was that Rhyme was there with him every step of the way, even that night in jail when she was bunking next to him.

5...

There was a reason why Neku was so close off.

While many believed that was just his personality, others worried if it was something deeper than that. They were right. Only no one knew _why_... Teachers thought it was the loss of his best friend a few years ago, Shiki worried that it might have to do with his parents fighting or something because even though Neku had drastically improved since she first met him, she knew he closed himself off sometimes and she saw the shadow of his former self shine through. (And God forbid if his parents were hurting him, she would hurt them.) Beat was convinced it was trauma from Joshua shooting him, until Rhyme reminded him that Neku was probably like that before his "death". Joshua knew the reason, but didn't say a word. Instead he offered a comforting look, and a helping hand. Neku often accepted with a nod, but offered no explanations to anyone else.

There was also a reason why Neku was so attached to his headphones.

Teachers try hard to get him to remove them, but he never listen. Beat made the mistake of taking them one day, only to have Neku freak out on him and not speak to him for the rest of the day. And while he no longer blasted music through them all the time to tune out the world, Neku never ever took them off.

The reason why Neku is attached to his headphones was the same reason why Neku was so close off. Now if only they knew why...

4...

Sanae let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He was cleared of all charges, given the circumstances, and for one reason or another Joshua was scot-free as well. Then he realized that he would be spending the rest of eternity working with _Joshua... _and wondered if the higher ups thought that was punishment enough.

So when Joshua turned and look at him with all too familiar smirk, Sanae thought to himself _' Yup, I'm screwed.'__  
_  
3...

Kariya loved ramen. Someone, perhaps his father, he didn't remember really, once told him it ran in the family.

So as he ate he remembered shocking blond hair and bright blue eyes and couldn't help but wonder if he made a mistake of not taking his nephew in. After all, being a reaper couldn't be THAT different from being a shinobi right?

2...

On the other side, Joshua met a child with ice blue eyes.

He didn't need to know the future to understand that she was doomed to a life of pain, misery, and anger. Her bright soul would grow so very dark and Joshua wasn't sure if he would be able to do anything about it. But he resolved this much: he would make her as strong as possible so that if anything else, she **survived**.

1...

Shooter was surprised to find out that the guy who he taught and challenged to Tin Pin was actually his classmate, a bit older than him, but he did attend the same school.

He also was very crushed when the guy said he didn't recognize him.

Then again, Neku was trying to save Shibuya. It couldn't be his fault that he didn't remember the kid's name... right?

0...

"Open up or die."


	2. Chapter 2

10…

The second week in the game was not the first time Joshua met Neku.

Perhaps Neku didn't remember. His violent reaction toward Joshua that second week was proof enough. But maybe, just maybe he did and didn't want to acknowledge it. Or perhaps Neku hadn't quite finished connecting all the dots yet, but Joshua didn't push him. It was one memory he has no desire of awakening unless absolutely necessary.

Joshua met this Neku when Neku was only five.

It was raining that day and a single gunshot rang loudly.

9…

In another lifetime, Neku would become Producer.

Sanae would have been sentence to death and the brand of a Fallen Angel. But he would have been granted the task of finding his successor first. Neku was his choice.

Of course, he never exactly _told_ Neku. After all, Neku didn't know that Sanae was an Angel and the Producer, though Sanae liked to think he gave Neku more than enough hints. Merely, he offered to take the young boy under his wing and teach him everything he needed to know: about art, life and the Reaper's Game. Neku of course agreed in a heartbeat to work with his idol.

This of course left a very bitter Neku when Sanae finally died, who didn't know what was going on _again_. It also left a very tempting urge to strangle Joshua who seemed to know what was going on, no matter how much Neku trusted his former partner.

So when Neku finally came to terms with it again, he bitterly let his anger go because Sanae taught him better than that. He vowed to become a good Producer because he respected Sane that much. Then he flipped open the sign to Wildkat, accepted Joshua's offer of help and put his memories to rest because Sanae taught him that above else, _keep moving forward_.

8…

Makoto Miki was very worried.

For one reason or another, he cannot understand why Neku kept coming back to his store. He bit his lip and thought that maybe this kid was hitting on him! Which, for various reasons starting with the fact that he wasn't gay, was a very bad thing.

He explained this to Eiji one day, shortly after Neku had come in again. Eiji stared at him, and then looked at the retreating back of Neku before looking back at Makoto. Then he said, "Mick, he isn't hitting on you. Even if he swung that way, I'm fairly certain he would be hitting on purple eyed boy."

Makoto let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was merely overreacting.

But Eiji wasn't done. "No Mick, actually I think it's the other way around. I think _you_ are in love with him."

Poor Makoto couldn't look anyone in the eye for days.

7…

On the other side, the day Neku met Joshua was not a day Neku remembered too fondly about.

Neku raised his eyebrow when he noticed Shooter drag in his cousin, Shiki, and her friend Beat into Ramen Don. But since they weren't supposed to "know" each other, he merely played along. Neku was amused that of all the people Shooter had grabbed to help with this "Tin Pin" problem were actually all Angels in disguised. However, Neku could have really done without that annoying human Joshua.

As a Soulreader in training, one could say this was Neku's very first mission on Earth. As such, he was excused from the fact that he ignored every gut instinct that was screaming that he was about to get in over his head.

Before Neku could even stop to catch his breath, he was swept away in a day of insanity and fun. He was called a Kindred Spirit, named after a crayon, "battled" against evil, dealt with Shiki and Beat's constant teasing (ooo he would get them back one day), and resisted the urge to smack Joshua.

When all was finally done and said, Neku wanted nothing more to then to be very far away from Joshua. Considering he was Angel, staying away from a human like Joshua seemed easy enough.

But then, Shiki calmly pointed out to Neku that Joshua was actually an Angel too and Neku's future superior no less. Joshua laughed and placed a feather light kiss on Neku's hand before smirking and saying, "I'll see you around Ne-ku~". It took all of Neku's willpower not to burst out screaming.

6…

Mr. Mew was more than a stuff animal to Shiki.

Mr. Mew was a friend, a lifeline, and a bond that could never be replaced.

Because, Mr. Mew was the reason why Shiki met Eri and ultimately the reason why she met Neku and survived.

5…

Joshua mused one day that Megumi and Neku are eerily similar.

Both favored a pair of headphone, both are able to deal with him, both originally had the same point of view towards people, and both had the ability to be _very_ powerful.

However as vastly similar they are, they are both very different.

Megumi played by the book, Neku had broken nearly every rule in the game. Megumi was slow, but Neku moved oh so fast. Megumi took the wait-and-see approach in life, Neku charged head-forward to save those he cared about.

Thus ultimately, it was _Megumi _who failed and **Neku** who won.

While Megumi was a good friend and a loyal Conductor, Joshua knew that he didn't even begin to compare to the brightness of Neku's imagination. For the umpteen time Joshua considered making Neku his new Conductor, because Neku would be FAR more interesting.

4…

On the other side, Neku met his first student for the first time.

As he glazed into the bright hazel colored eyes, Neku already knew that this boy would surpass him in the future. On the other hand, he also knew that this boy would throw everything he had to gain for the sake of love. Briefly Neku wondered if his student was aware that he was repeating history. Because Neku threw everything he had to gain for the sake of love, and while he gained even more then he could imagined, he knew that his life could have been _very_ different.

Instead, Neku ruffled the already wild chocolate hair and decided to let Fate run its course.

3…

On this side, Neku meets a familiar stranger.

It was an accident that they run into each other on the streets, a chance meeting. Before Neku could open his mouth to apologize, a laugh and a pair of bright hazel colored eyes that greet him warmly surprised him. Sooner than he realized it, Neku had found another friend in someone who was a total stranger to him ten minutes ago.

Then his new friend apologized that he must be going. He made movements to head towards a girl with white hair and ice blue eyes and to Neku's alarm, Joshua. But Neku didn't say anything, because he trust Joshua and he trust his new friend.

It was also then that Neku realized he didn't know his new friend's name and quickly asked for it.

His friend smiled at him and answered, "It's Asho."

2…

Shiki's new friends came with an unspoken rulebook.

Eri learn each rule the hard way. Each and every single rule began with the word "Never".

Never ask Rhyme what her hopes and dreams are. She won't be able to answer you without breaking down into tears.

Never write on anyone's hand, especially Neku. They all flinch from it.

Never be alone with Joshua. Shiki told her this one and Eri still couldn't figure out _why_.

Never ask exactly how Shiki met them. No one will give her a straight answer aside from "At Hachiko".

Never ask why all the shopkeepers love Neku and what he had done to gain their total love and affection. Personally Eri found this one to be a little scary.

Never text message to any of them. Like writing on the hand, they all flinch from it.

Never mock the power of Reaper Creeper.

**Never** make sound of a gun near Neku. By default, never take Neku to see a movie about guns either. Joshua actually glared at her for that one.

_**Never**_ take Neku's headphones. He will freak and not speak to you for the rest of the day, or week.

But most importantly…

_**Never**_ joke about death.

1…

Shibuya loved Neku.

Joshua knew this well.

It was the very reason why Joshua chosen him to be his proxy.

It was also the very reason why Joshua gave Neku his headphones.

0…

"I would die for you, Neku."

* * *

Remember most of these eventually connect together :3 Have you started to piece together which ones go together? Please review


End file.
